What the Election Results Mean for Housing

The November elections clearly showed a fiercely partisan divide, with the presidential election decided when Donald Trump carried the key swing states of Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. He secured the election early on the morning of Nov. 6 by winning Wisconsin, another battleground state.

And in a sign of another solid election night for the GOP, the Senate flipped to the Republicans with GOP pickups in Montana, Ohio and West Virginia. NAHB's voter mobilization effort in Montana helped secure the win for Republican challenger Tim Sheehy, a pro-housing advocate.

Meanwhile, the battle for the House majority is going down to the wire, with scores of races still to be called. Regardless of which party wins the House, thanks in large part to NAHB's efforts, there is consensus on both sides of the political aisle to take concrete steps to address the nation's housing affordability crisis.

For the past year, NAHB has laid the groundwork to make housing a top priority at the local, state and national levels. Last spring, we unveiled a 10-point housing plan addressing the root causes of the problem, such as excessive regulations, inefficient local zoning rules and permitting roadblocks that prevent builders from increasing the nation's housing supply.

This plan was distributed to congressional offices and many state and local HBAs shared it with their elected officials. During this election season, NAHB testified several times on Capitol Hill, and we maintained a presence at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions this summer to push our housing agenda. NAHB also endorsed nearly 100 pro-housing Democratic and Republican candidates for Congress, and more than 90% of them won their races on Nov. 5.

These actions helped elevate housing to the forefront of the political agenda. President-elect Donald Trump said: "Government regulations are responsible for more than 25% of the cost of a new single-family home and 40% of the cost of multifamily. We're going to end all of that." And Vice President Kamala Harris also kept housing at the forefront of the campaign, pledging to work with home builders to construct an additional 3 million housing units.

With dozens of House seats still to be called and a handful of key Senate races still in the balance, housing remains a bipartisan issue, regardless of which parties control the levers of power on Capitol Hill. And as the dust settles from this election, NAHB and our Federation stand poised to work with a new Congress and the incoming Trump administration, as well as elected officials at all levels of government, to deliver bipartisan solutions that break the rising cost curve and allow builders to construct more homes and apartments.

To hear what the election means for housing, NAHB members are invited to register for a post-election webinar on Nov. 13 at 12 p.m. ET.

Read NAHB's 2024 election summary for more details.